The Giftcards

I believe in reincarnations and I believe that all souls have to undergo various life forms before it achieves the form of human life. Human life is said to be the ultimate gift from god and our opportunity to break free from the cycle of life and death and ultimately our path to Moksh. Now, I am not sure whether my life would qualify for a Moksh but I sure do know that there are things which I MUST experience before the end comes knocking, I call them Giftcards and have classified them under Familia, Travel, Adventure, Sports and ultimately as Experience Everything Once. 

Familia-

1. Fall in love and marry the nicest guy on Earth ( Got married in 2009) : What else do I say, I got lucky . I often tell Abhi that he is my " Happy Gift from God". Yes, thats the only explanation I can think of, someone up there is Happy with me and Abhi is the way he shows his blessing. Its been 4 years since we met and will be 3 years of our marriage in Feb and our marriage has been the best thing in my life, and he says in his too.

2.Own a house- (March 2011) We bought our first house in Bombay and now working to pay off the mortgage.

3.Be a mother : Someday, I would like to have lots of kids, maybe 3 to 5. Crazy idea in this day and age but what the heck, life will be so entertaining, packed with all action, drama and too much love.

4.Visit Abhijeet's college with him- When we were dating, he told me that the best time of his life were the years he spent at IIT-Kharagpur and someday he would like to take me there and we will ride bicycle in the campus and drink chai at Cheddis. Even after so many years, there is always a shimmer of happiness in his eyes whenever he mentions his Alma mater and I really hope we get to visit it together someday.

5. Buy a piece of very expensive jewelry and pass it on to my kids : Something that in turn will be passed down to generations to come.

6.Write a family history book-It is important to preserve family history, it gives a sense of belonging when one finds oneself detached from roots. I should really get this started soon. Definitely, this year.

7.Every year go out for a day picnic, near waterfront with a picnic basket and spend the day reading book or signing song : Its just very relaxing and what better way to enjoy summers. We started this in 2011.
 

Travel-

8.See the Pyramids- This has been my dream ever since I first read about Pyramids when I was a little girl. Its hard to explain why I am so fascinated but this is a must-do thing for me.

9.Travel to Russia and visit Tolstoy's house- I am a huge Tolstoy fan and I dream of visiting his country, and while I am there I would also like to visit Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

10.Visit Alaska and see an Igloo and hopefully Northern Lights- Its my dream to see an Igloo! The first time I read about Eskimos and Igloos was geography lessons in class 4th and I couldn't believe that such a place exist. How very fascinating wonders of mother nature. Its been said that 2013 is a good year for Northern Lights and hopefully we can work a short trip that time.

11.Visit Shanti Niketan- For the love of Tagore.

12.Gamble in Las Vegas (been there done that in 2009)-Drank, smoked, danced, won some money and lost lot more. What an experience. I hope to do it again and again. Maybe next time win some more. 

13.See the statue of David (Been there done that in 2009)- I love art, any form, anywhere. Seeing Michelangelo's masterpiece at Florence was an experience I find truly indescribable. It was simply and mildly put was spellbinding in least. I believe I spent close to one hour just staring and soaking in this masterpiece.

14.Take a Gondola ride in Venice (Been there done that in 2009)- This one is giving in to my romantic side. There is some indescribable charm in riding hand drawn boat in one of the most romantic cities in the world. I absolutely love Venice but then who doesn't? We did this when we were there for our Honeymoon in 2009. 

15.Spend an entire day at Louvre, Paris- the art-lover in me strokes back.  (Done in 2015)

16.Go on a cruise- Maybe take a cruise along the Antarctic on our 25th wedding anniversary? Perhaps or sooner.

17.Go on a vacation with friends, just the girls : I and my girlfriends made a pact back in college that we will definitely go on a trip, just the girls someday. I liked the idea then and we still talk about it. We should definitely do that ( Did this on Nov 2013)

18.Travel to Switzerland - its a dream. (Done in 2015)

19.Live in a foreign country (been there done that, living in US since 2009)- apparently when I was living in Bombay and never had any realistic hope or plans of leaving it, I dreamed about living in US. And by some divine chance it came true. Now being the insatiable dreamer that I am, I hope to live in Europe for couple of years.

20. Visit Tanzania and see the Serengeti wildebeest migration- Africa and the wildlife. Serengeti wildebeest migration is said to be one of a kind experience and I do hope to experience it one day.

21.Visit the seven wonders of the world- 2 done ( Taj Mahal and Colosseum) and 5 more to go

22.Take an impulsive trip- go to the airport and buy the first national flight out. No baggage, no plans, only Abhi's credit card and him.

23. Attend Carnival and Mardi Gras at New Orleans- I have heard its an amazing experience and New Orleans continues to be the top-visited cities in US, what more reason its down south! ( Update- been there done that on 19/20th Feb 2012)

24.Visit North or South Pole- Now who wouldn't like to experience that!

25. Take a road trip in a top down convertible, preferably a Mustang.

26.Visit Yellowstone National Park - Travel junkies say that if you can visit one national park in US, it should be Yellowstone and thus it is on my travel list. (Done in 2017)

Adventure-

27. Ride an elephant: I find them so majestic and there is some kind of unexplained calmness in their eyes which dissipates any fear. I once rode a camel when I was around 6-8 years old at Juhu Beach and trust me I was terrified!

28.White Water Rafting  ( been there done that in  in 2006 at Gangotri, India) : In Dec of 2006 , I along with ma, pa, and my childhood friends Mehavsh and Fardin were attending Rishi's graduation ceremony at IMA, Dehradun. On an impulse, we all decided to go to Gangotri where the 3 of us- I, Mehvash and Fardin did White Water Rafting in the chilling waters of Ganga ( The Holy River). It was very exciting and so much fun!

29. Skydive- Just because I want to fly like a bird ( check- summer, 2015). The best 60 secs of my life!

30. Scuba dive- experience the other world. Honestly, I don't like to go underwater but its an experience that I want to experience because of experience alone. Well not everything has to make sense.

31.Go skinny-dipping in lake- don't ask me why. (your clue- Liberty)

32.Go Camping, bonfire and sleep under stars ( planned for summer of 2012)-Camp near a waterfront or mountains, light a bonfire, make smores and sleep under the stars. Yes that simple and that high on my list ( Update- ticked this off in summer of 2013)

33.Take a ride in Hot Air Balloon- anywhere, anyplace as long as I do it once. 

34. Go Fishing ( been there done that in 2011 ) This was never a dream, in fact I never thought about it while I was in India. But living in new country one tends to start wanting new things and then there is question on Why Not? So I put this on my list and as luck would have it, one morning in 2011, armed with rod and reels along with some friends I tried my hands at fishing. Yes I did catch couple, which later Abhi cooked for dinner. Did I mention I am a vegetarian, who apparently loves to fish.

35.Attend a live music concert- This one I need to do soon, at least before I stop recognizing names of all the singers/bands/artists and feel like I am completely dated before I even hit 30s. Just sometime back a family friend's nine year old girl came with a poster of some blonde singer and asked me do I know who he was and I was embarrassed to acknowledge that I didn't. Her father later informed he is the latest teen heartthrob pop star, Justin Bieber.

OK-point noted, let me watch Lady Antebellum, while I still recognize and enjoy what is being played on radio. ( Update- attended Lady A concert in 2012)

36.Go Horseback Riding ( been there done that in summer of 2011) - At the horse capital of the world, Lexington. I loved it and hopefully I will do this again.

37. Watch sunrise and sunset-I have never watched either or perhaps I don't remember it. Maybe at a beach or at some mountains

38. Shark Cage Diving- crazy little adventure.

39. Watch a bull-fight - maybe in Spain.

40. Watch a play- I want to experience a live performance and I think watching play at theater is something that needs to be experienced once (Have done this couple of times now, in 2015 at UT as well as 2017 in Chicago)

41.Do skiing  (been there done that in  in 2010) it was not a pleasant first time experience. Its very difficult and the temperature was extra chilly that day.

 Sports- 

 42.Watch a live Basketball match- I am a sports enthusiast and would really like to watch a NBA game someday, maybe catch up a Heat's match. (Watched Lebron James played in Chicago, Cavs v/s Chicago)

                                                                 43.Watch a live Tennis match ( been there 
 done that in 2010) Saw Roger Federer win Cincinnati Open beating Mardy Fish. 

44. Watch Liverpool play at Liverpool- Its a dream.

45. Own an autographed item from Roger Federer ( my favorite sports star of all time)

Experience everything once-

46.Learn one foreign language and practice it in that country- I am thinking maybe Spanish or Russian. ( I did learn Spanish in 2012)


47. Plant a Neem tree - I don't remember where I hear that one must plant a tree as a gesture of saying Thanks for our lives, but that hit a chord somewhere and I have this thing in my mind that I need to plant a tree. And what better tree than Neem tree, after all its usefulness is unlimited (In 2019, I made a donation to Cavery Calling initiative to plant 251 trees)

48.Watch a live Mozart concert - maybe in Vienna.

49. Learn to ride a Motorcycle-ever since Rishi got his Enfield I am hoping he could teach me how to ride that beast.

50. Visit a Gay Bar- no explanation, hence classified as "experience everything once" list.

51. Smoke Pot/Drink Bhang- come on now who needs an explanation, except my parents? ( Done in 2017, not a happy experience)

52. Build my own library ( work in progress)- I collect books and even though I have started reading on ipad, I still enjoy holding a real book and dog-ear the pages. If I just continue the way I am I should have a decent collection by the time I am 65.

53.Get drunk till I pass out-came very close, almost at Mardi Gras 2012

54. Color my hair blue, pink and green together and wear it for a week.

55. Get a tattoo

56.Smoke a Cigar (been there done that in 2011) and I quite enjoyed it

57. Do Volunteer work as often as possible- I volunteered for a couple of months with National Service Scheme and also with Child Relief and You while I was in college, but its been a while and I think I should start volunteering as and when I get a chance. Its just a very nice feeling to experience that my life can be of some service and make some small difference.

58.Learn something new every year - The real purpose of life is growth, to enrich our souls with an experience that we never thought was possible, to be better than yesterday and the way to do this is to never stop learning and I hope to learn one new thing every new year

( 2009- I learned to drive an automatic and on the left-hand side, 2010- I learned skiing, 2011- I learned fishing and sketching and a tad bit of horse riding)

59.Spend one entire day at the movie theater watching a movie from the first show to last show (Check, summer of 2015)

60. Much to the horror of my beloved husband, this is not a final list and will continue to evolve, like life.

Update in October 2019- 27/59 

Count in March 2012-14/59

And here is something from Abhijeet :

1.Spend one complete year in UK and watch every EPL match at the stadium  

2. Spend one year in Madrid and watch Premier League matches at the stadium

3.Rent a car and drive through every capital of Europe

4.Take a road trip across India, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.

5.Buy a large house and live happily with all the family, this includes his brothers, cousins, grandparents- yes the good old traditional Indian joint family value.